The Republic - Great Air Battles
by IrohLegoman
Summary: Side to Republic The Sky is a Battlefield. In the Equestrian Civil War, brutal air combat with use of artificial wings forms a new kind of warrior: the dogfighter. In the freezing air above pegasus height, these fearless pilots duel to the death. Now you're in the cockpit as these pilots fight to survive. Experience the battle, dissect the tactics, relive the DogFights
1. First Dog Fights

Dogfights first developed around observation aircraft, sent into enemy airspace to spot artillery or track troop movements. Smaller aircraft, called scouts, were designed to attack these reconnaissance planes. Essential to these missions was the use of forward firing machine guns. For the first time pilots are able to use their planes as a plane form from which they can fire, which is far more actuate that firing to the side or behind.

Republic Ace Herder Frost is a master of this new form of air combat racking, up forty eight kills. Flying a new prototype Fokker Dr. I triplane, Frost flies over the No Pony's Land North of the Foal Mountains. Fifteen miles to the Southwest, a flight of six Solar S.E.5a's patrols the skies over the front. Soon they will meet Herder Frost in battle. He will pit his Fokker triplane against the best of Solar Flying Corp.

The six Solar S.E.5's are B-flight of 12th Squadron. They are led by Captain Cuddly, Solar's Ace of Aces. B-flight descends through a thick layer of clouds at 9000 feet. Below the clouds, unseasonably warm air whips through the pilots cockpits. They are looking for enemy fighter aircraft or observation airplanes. Flak bursts menacing around them. The first anti-aircraft guns are no more that artillery pieces modified to shot straight up.

Cuddly spots a lone Republic Zeppelin Staakin RV1 bomber at his eleven o'clock low. Cuddly pitches down into a dive to make a lightning quick attack run. At fifty yards, he opens up with is Lou machine gun mounted on the top wing. The steam of bullets flies straight through the middle of the plane, killing the pilot. The Zeppelin noses down and drops out of the sky. But as B-flight pulls us, Cuddly sees something in the distance: an S.E.5 half spinning down closely pursed by a Republic triplane. The S.E's tormentor is Republic Ace Herder Frost. Frost fires a burst into the Solar plane. Meanwile B-flight looks on as the S.E.5 trails black smoke, as Frost engages a second S.E.5. Effortlessly, the triplane pitches up, loops over and drops onto the S.E.5's tail. Seconds later, the S.E.5 is trailing black smoke, and going down. With 12th squadron looking one, the triplane has made quick work of two S.E.5's.

B-flight is now above and behind Frost, in perfect attack position. Cuddly and Grease Revits will lead the attack, their wingponys, K. Muscrat and V.P. Corona will follow. The remaining two planes will stay up top as top cover. Cuddly signals his attack by rocking his wings, and dives down. Cuddly, diving at high speeds goes to the right, with Grease to the left. Confident of an easy kill, Cuddly and Grease open up, but Frost is anything but an easy target. He's been trained in the first codified dogfight tactics. Rule Five says you should always turn into your enemy's attack, and put him on the defensive.

Frost boots hard right rudder, and spin his machine around 180 degrees. The bizarre maneuver takes the advance of the triplane's stunning maneuverability. The triplane's three wings gave it an exceptional amount of lift to it. This allowed it to do what is called a half flat spin, or an uncontrolled turn.

The S.E.5's face a torrent of tracers. Cuddly and Grease pull into a steep climb, called zooming. But Corona's S.E.5 is sluggish, and drops below Frost, his engine sputtering. Frost reverses and attacks Corona. Corona's sputtering engine coughs to life. He now turns directly into Frost, and opens fire at 300 feet. Frost breaks his attack, but he's not running away, even if it is four against one. Corona decides to stay in the fight, to stay ahead of Frost, and to act as a distraction. Corona and Frost, repeated go into head ons with each other. Corona ducking underneath with Frost drove at or into him.

Above the fight, Cuddly circles, looking for an opening. Cuddly waits for Frost to expose his six o'clock, then pitches over and dives down. Cuddly opens up with his Vic machine gun. But in a blink of an eye, Frost reverses and returns fire with is twin Spands. Cuddly hurdles passed, then zoom climbs. Frost maneuvers bravely, despite the odds. In a group fight like this, one against four, the best place to be is in the middle. They are circling around you trying to maneuver while they have to be careful not to shoot or crash into each other. But, Cuddly is determined, he again noses. No soon than Cuddly's guns spark to life, that Frost brings his nose up to bear. Hot Republic lead tears through Cuddly's S.E.5, shredding fabric and wooden wing spars. Frost seems invincible at the controls of his triplane.

Frost's mastery of his machine finally catches up to Corona. His S.E.5 has taken severe damage. Corona resorts to a last ditch effort to shake Frost off his tail. He noses down and sends his plane into a spin. After a few revolutions, Corona straightens out, but Frost did not buy the trick. He comes down and strafes Corona's wing, and hits his engine.

Frost has now shot down three S.E.5's, and landed hits on any Solar pilot that has approached him. But now, three more planes of 12th squadron join the fray. A startling array of pilots now surrounds Herder Frost, all Solar Aces. Frost's ability of stick and throttle, his ability to fly in a discipline, and his ability to keep his wits about him has helped him hold his own.

Solar S.E. pilot Rich Berry now zeros in on Frost from six o'clock. Frosts brakes right to shake him off, but Berry is not thrown. A Republic Albatross D III has now stumbled into the battle, turning easily on to Berry's tail. Berry zoom climbs to shake the Albratoss. The Republic pilot gives chase. But worst, Frosts climbs and latches on himself. Flying nearby, Cuddly and Grease move in behind the Republics. The battle is now transformed into a wild, twisty tail chase.

The Albatross pitches up, zooms and then drops in behind Cuddly and Grease. Unfortunately for Grease, the Albatross unloads his guns into his airplane. The bullets shred the fabric on Grease's elevator, making it useless. At the head of the chase, Rich Berry yanks the stick, pitches up and loops around onto the Albatross' tail. He fires at point blank range into the Albatross. The wounded Albatross plummets. But it is too late, as Grease's plane noses down and goes into a death spin.

Frost is alone once again. He zooms, distancing himself from the slower climbing S.E.5's. Winging over, Frost looks down at the planes circling below. Frost dives back into the fray. He fires his Spand machine guns into the nearest S.E.5. With the engine pummeled, the Solar pilot dives out. The dogfight rages as Frost expertly flies his triplane, pumping round into each S.E.5. The triplane was still circling around in the midst of six S.E.'s, all firing as opportunity allowed.

The Solar pilots are dumbstruck at the skill and tenacity of pilot in the Fokker triplane. But the battle is about to take an odd turn. One S.E.5 had just gotten onto Frost's tail, when its engine gave out. The S.E.5 was now out of fuel. Frost pitched up and looped on the S.E.'s tail, but broke as he nearly misses crashing into the slow gliding S.E. Berry dives after Frost, firing a burst at him, but one of his guns jams. Frost breaks right, away from Berry, and latches on to another S.E.5. The pilot breaks left, but Frosts follow. Cuddly sees this and brings his plane behind Frosts, firing a burst. Frost zooms and kicks right rudder. Frost is now flying inverted directly above Cuddly. Both break off to their respective right sides. Frost engages with another S.E.5. He follows it in a wide right turn. Berry comes in from Frost's ten o'clock trying to make a pass. But Frosts shoots down the S.E.5 in front of him right before Berry comes in. As Berry comes in, Frost hits left rudder and peppers Berry's plane. Berry's engine now gives out black smoke as he goes down.

Frost has now shot down five enemy planes. He then spots Cuddly coming at him from his twelve high. Frost pitches up to meet him. Frost pulls the trigger, nothing He is out of ammunition. Cuddly is still bearing down on him, then nothing. Cuddly is also out of ammunition. They pass each other; Frost hits his rudder one more time and slides into formation next to Cuddly. With a salute and a rock of the wings, they go their separate ways.

Both pilots returned home. Herder Frost was credited for five more enemy planes, while Cuddly lost three men of his flight. Cuddly used his expiernces to help train new pilots for the Solar Empire. The Fokker Dr. I was found to have wing failure due to poor materials and construction, as well waterproofing.

The exemplary skills of both pilots combined with the advancing technologies set part of the tactics for generation.


	2. Long Odds

Dogfighting means fighter versus fighter; two fast and nimble warbirds twisting and turning on the knife edge of survival. When a lumbering bomber stumbles into the fray, the result is usually certain death. But sometimes, bomber pilots with a special brand of skill and courage face down long odds, and find a way to out-dogfight a dogfighter.

May 8 1442: The Battle of the Coral Seas rages in the south Western Ocean. The Imperial Neighpan is strengthening their grip on the (Islands) as engaged Republic Carriers and their aircraft in an all-out combat for the first time in the war. In the midst of this epic battle, eight SDB Dauntless dive bombers from the LRS Yoketon, Guard against incoming torpedo bombers. It's a job for fighters, but they're in short supply. Leading the formation is Lt. Stand Crease, an experienced SBD pilot. Just ten minutes into the patrol, he spots enemy aircraft approaching fast, and they're not torpedo bombers. A swarm of deadly Moxi A6M3 Hap fighters are streaking in from above and behind the SBD's, a perfect attack position.

Nine A6M3 Haps come down firing twenty millimeters at a steep angle. If the SBD's go straight, they'll be sitting ducks. If they turn right, the agile Haps will be on their tail. Their only option is to turn left, into the attack, and throw off the Haps' timing. Crease calls for a left break. Crease turns, but nopony turns with him. The Haps slash through the formation. Four SBD's go down in flames in the dogfight's opening moments. Crease stays in his left turn, away from the carnage, but one of the Haps dives on him from seven o'clock high. Crease drops his nose, sharp; the Hap goes over the top of the SBD.

Stand's skillful move cause the Hap to overshoot, but he knows his slow dive bomber can't outrun the Hap; he must keep the Hap in front of him. The tough SBD pulls a high-G 180 degree turn with ease. The hap had already leveled off and was coming head on firing his twenty mils; one shot into Crease's engine will do him in. The two planes huddle in at each other; Stand must do something to throw off the Hap's aim. Crease slams his left rudder to the firewall, the nose skids left, avoiding the deadly 20mm cannon fire.

Both pilots stand on their wings tips and circle back towards each other; the closure rate increases to 600 knots. Crease skids again and reverses for another path. But something is wrong: the enemy pilot has not turned his aircraft around for another head on pass, he's flying away from Crease. The Hap was then immediately joined by a second fighter. He is now in a two versus one fight. Out-numbered and out gunned, the SBD was never designed for this fight.

The Douglas SBD was the most wildly distributed dive bomber in the Republic Navy. It is armed with two fixed forward firing .50cal machine guns and twin .30cal trainable machine guns aimed by a rear gunner, whose effectiveness is limited in maneuvering. It was designed to carry a single 1000lb bomb, though sometimes equipped with two more 100lb bombs, push over into a near vertical dive, hit the bomb release, and pullout into a blackout inducing recovering. Its rugged frame can withstand twelve G's, essential for diving. It also features 'swiss-cheese' dive flaps, allowing for dives at slower speeds allowing a longer aim time and control. But the ruggedness made it easy prey for the fast and nimble Hap.

The A6M3 Hap is designed for air to air combat. It virtually ruled the skies. The Hap is 2500lbs lighter, and is 100mph faster; its two 20mm cannons and two 7.7mm machine guns means is bettered armed. But a well-aimed burst from the SBD's heavy machine guns can wreak havoc on the lightly armored Hap.

Regardless of the odds, Crease is highly confident of his skills. He knows he can beat any pilot in a dogfight. The two Haps linger beyond Crease's machine gun range, coordinating their attack, and then they make their move. One Hap turns left into him, streaking in, cannons blazing. Crease jinks left. In front of him, the second Hap speeds in for a pass. With one coming head on, and the other turning to get on Crease's tail, they have now put Crease in a scissors.

Crease is in the middle, the two Hap pilots are on in front and behind him. They are flying at twice the speed as Cease, trying to use their speed to keep him bracketed in. To counter this, after a head on paa, Crease will snap the SBD around in an excruciating 9G reversal. He will try to keep the Haps in front of him, where he can use is nose mounted machine guns. The SBD can take the punishment, but Stand many not. His body can only stand 9G's for a few seconds before blacking out.

The Neighponese struggle to match Crease's maneuvers. Turning, jinking, changing altitude, dropping, jerking the plane up and down, Crease violently maneuvers to keep them from getting a sight on him. The Haps, can't handle the erratic moves; a 9G turn will rip the wings off the Hap. The fight has pushed Crease to the limit of pony endurance. Then the odds of making it home get even longer: a third Hap joins the hunt.

The third Hap comes in from nine o'clock high, and rolls over into a vertical. Stand Crease is penned in from all sides; his slow SBD will never out run the Haps. His survival now depends on somehow killing his pursuers. The Haps release hundreds of runs, some ripping through the fuselage, but the SBD keeps flying.

Supreme master of his aircraft has kept Stand alive, but as he turns, he fights to keep his hooves at the controls; at times, his body weighs over 1000lbs. The violent maneuvers stymied the enemy's attacks. In the back seat, the rear gunner cannot fire. Nearly blacking out, he can barely keep his head up, much less aim his .30cals.

Fending off the Haps, all he can hope for is them making a mistake. The mistake Crease is looking for in the Haps turn. After each head-on pass, the enemy has to make an extremely tight turn. If it is too lose, it puts Stand on the Hap's tail. The maneuvers continue as Stand waits for a moment to strike. The fight has gone on for an agonizing seventeen minutes. In the high-G turns, his heart pounds trying to pump blood to his hooves, his muscles ache against the physical exhaustion of combat. Crease must go on the offensive.

One Hap turns a bit wide, a fatal mistake as Crease holds onto his tail. Pulling the trigger, Crease gets a good burst on to the Hap. The Hap then begins to smoke. Stand has gotten a lethal punch, but there's still two in the air. One scrams in for another vertical pass. As the enemy pulls up, Stand sees an opening and goes for it. He pitched his plane up, bring his guns to bear. Almost vertical, the Hap makes a turn. Stand gets another good burst, setting the Hap on fire, but stalls. Crease recovers, the burning Hap fall from the sky, barely missing the SBD as it plunges toward the sea.

With two bold maneuvers, Crease has almost even the odds; only one Hap remains. The final Hap is at Crease's twelve, wheeling around for a decisive head-on pass. The Hap lobs deadly 20mm cannon shells, Crease skids left. The Hap is now bent on ramming him. They go for another pass. At the last moment, Stand jerks up, went into a vertical, and rolled back. As Stand rolls back, there was a tremendous clap. Crease sees something flies off and thinks he has lost an aileron.

Miraculously, Crease has survived a midair collision with the Hap. When Stand rolled back, his left wing tip sliced right though the Haps wing. Crease turns back and sees the smoking Hap dive down into the clouds.

After defeating three Haps with a slow SBD, Stand lands back on the Yoketon a hero; he is awarded the Navy Cross for his actions. With his dogfighting skill obvious, he transfers to flying F4F Wildcats off the Eclipse. Months later, he makes history again by shooting down seven Neighponese planes in one day.

* * *

In the south Western Ocean, bombers met swarms of fighters. Barely a year after Crease's SBD flight, a B-17 Flying Fortress faces no less than seven teen attackers.

June 6 1443: a B-17 lumbers through the skies above the Solomon islands. The four engine bomber, nick-named 'Old 666' is completely alone, beyond the range of friendly fighters. Pilot J. Zipper are tasked with taking detailed photos of (islands) for invasion maps. The nine-pony crew has volunteered for this dangerous mission. The B-17 cruises into enemy airspace; the Neighponese rush to scramble seventeen fighters to the attack.

J. Zipper recalls that he should have just broke, and headed for home. Being in the infantry at one point, the importance of the mapping hit him. They knew that the Zeros would catch up to them if they did the whole mission. But heroically, J. Zipper maintains heading, committed to finishing the mission that now seems suicidal.

Tension in the cabin builds as the Zeros close in. The Zeros encircle the bomber, lingering outside machine gun range, coordinating their attack.

The story of Old 666 takes place five months earlier. Lack of discipline put J. Zipper and his crew at the bottom of the waiting list for new planes. The unit photographer tells Zipper where he can find a plane. He says 'nopony will fly it because when it goes out, it gets shot to Tartarus.' The wrecked plane is slated to be scavenged for parts. Zipper's ponys get a hold of it and tow it back to base, tail number 666. They repair it, and patch holds, bringing it back to flight-readiness.

A standard B-17E is a four engine bomber that can carry up to 8000lbs of bombs; thirteen machine guns are mounted throughout the aircraft. But Zipper's crew will need extra fire power, they plan on volunteering for the most dangerous missions, nopony else will fly. They modify the plane; the waist guns are converted to twin .50cals, and an extra machine gun is added into the nose for the bombardier, a .50cal is fitted onto the nose for pilot J. Zipper to use. In all, 666 is loaded with nineteen machine guns.

Now facing unimaginable odds against Neighponese fighters, Zipper's ponies will need the extra guns. Three Zeros break the formation and attack; they take position at 10, 12, and 2 o'clock. They are trying to split the bomber's defensive fire, but Old 666 is bristling with extra fire power in front. The Zeros roll over, inverted, as they attack, so they can peel away faster. J. Zipper fires his nose mounted machine gun at the attacker directly in front of him. Rounds slam into the Zero, ignited the fuel tanks, and the plane tumbles. Below the pilot, bombardier Bandsaw fires at another attacker. A long burst send another plane tumbling to earth. They have struck an early blow, but their exhilaration soon turns to horror. Deadly 20mm cannons from the third plane impact the bombers flight deck and fuselage. In the cockpit, shrapnel rips into Zipper's forelegs and hindlegs. In the nose, shattered plexy glass and metal rip into Bandsaw's abdomen. Bandsaw started to crawl back when the navigator came to check on him; Bandsaw then crawl back up to the machine guns.

Another wave of Neighponese fighters swoops in; this time with a twin-engine Ki-46 Dinah at 12 o'clock to make a head on pass. It is a lightly armored plane built for reconnaissance missions, not an all-out brawl. Bandsaw, hooves slick with blood, grips the machine gun one last time. He saw the incoming plane, fired right at it, and shot it down. Shortly after, he collapses on the gun.

The crew continues battling off the Zeros. In the cockpit, blood spurts out of J. Zipper's shredded forehooves, and soaks the controls, he struggles to stay conscious. The B-17's rudder controls are gone, the hydraulics are shot up; the forward firing machine guns are out of commission, and worst of all, the oxygen system is gone. And at their altitude of 25000 feet, the air is too thin to breathe. Zipper makes a desperate move; he dives trying to get the hell out of there. Old 666 drops 3 miles in 40 seconds. They level off at 8000 feet; the crew can now breathe without equipment. The fourteen remaining fighters easily keep pace with the wounded bomber, maneuvering in front to continue their attacks.

To survive, Zipper knows he must make himself a smaller target while maintaining a heading for home. He executes a defensive tacking maneuver: by winging the bomber sharply to meet each frontal attack, Zipper gives each Zero pilot a moment to fire. While the average dogfight lasts a minute, J. Zipper and his crew survives for an excruciating 45 minutes. Zipper's legs and hooves are lacerated, but somehow maintains the strength to grip the controls and maneuver the bomber.

After burning up all their fuel in the dogfight, the Neighponese know that they must head home. They peel off, lifting their siege on the Flying Fortress. Only with the crew safe, does Zipper relinquish the control of the bomber. Old 666 limps its way back to a friendly airbase. In a B-17, Zipper and his men fought off seventeen enemy planes and completed their mapping mission.

Safely on the ground, medics rush to the aircraft. Bombardier Bandsaw is dead, they assume the pilot, J. Zipper is too. Amazingly Zipper survives. 187 bullets and five cannon shells had shredded Old 666; six of the nine crew were hit. For his perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds, J. Zipper is awarded the Medal of Honor. For returning to his guns while mortally wounded, Bandsaw is also awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. The seven other crew receive the Distinguished Service Cross. It is the most highly decorated Republic aircrew in the war.


	3. Lightning Ambush

22 year old Robin Young pilots his P-38, names Scat III, over the Solar Empire. His mission: protect Republic heavy bombers from Solar fighters. Young's flight of four p-38's is on the far left of three squadrons, between them, they cover nearly twenty miles of sky. On the lookout, Young spots specks in the distance. Young know that they are enemy planes; no other planes are supposed to be up. It's a swarm of Me-109 fighters. Young counts anywhere from fifty-five to sixty fighters. Young's three and four planes report in with engine problems from poor fuel quality, and lag behind. Young and his wingpony, B.E. Hollar pull ahead to investigate. Then Young makes an aggressive move: he firewalls his throttle and races toward the Me's. Young's wingpony faithfully keeps up. Young is about to do the unthinkable: his two fighters are about to take on fifty enemy Me-109's.

In the right hooves, the twin engine Lightning is up to the task. From its introduction, the P-38 Lightning is seen as a radical departure from traditional Republic fighters of the day. It boasts twice the power, and almost twice the size of its predecessors. With four .50 caliber machine guns, plus a twenty millimeter cannon, the P-38 packs enough power to sink a ship. The Solar pilots dubbed the new fighter, The Forked-Tail Tirek. Young's P-38 is better armed, more maneuverable, and faster, but the Me-109 is better in a dive. Young can out-turn them, but could dive with them.

Young and his wingpony steal even closer, approaching undetected behind the vast Solar formation. To reduce drag, Young tells his wingpony to drop their heavy long range fuel tanks. Young gets upon the tail end fighter and is about to shot, when his engines quit. Startled, Young realizes that when he dropped his fuel tanks, he forgot to switch over to his internal fuel supply. Young fires anyway. Bullets rake the 109 in front of Young, and goes down. Young still claim to be the only fighter pilot in the history of aerial warfare to shoot down an enemy aircraft while gliding.

As the first fighter breaks up and falls away, Young dives down, restarts his engines and presses his attack into the formation. The Solar pilots scatter in panic; the P-38's speed into the formation of fifty enemy fighters. Young's wingpony chases after two aircraft. Young, in a climbing left turn, purses another. As the Me-109 flies across Young's front, he opens up, getting another kill. Hollar got two more. Young looks down while in his turn and sees a P-51B Mustang being chased by two Me-109's. Young goes into a steep screaming dive to help the outnumbered Mustang. But in his excitement, Young dives too fast.

Young pulls and yanks at the control yoke, Scat III doesn't respond. His P-38 plummets out of control, plunging towards the Solar country side. The speed built up in his dive renders his flight controls useless. The P-38 is gripped in an aerodynamic effect known as compressibility. In the dive, Young's P-38 actually approaches the speed of sound. The air on the leading edge of the wing begins to compress. As the speed increases, a shock wave deveopes. The airflow over the wings and critical control surfaces is distrusted. The pilot is no longer master of his machine.

Young gives up on worrying about the Solar pilots, all he want to do now is try to recover. As he reaches the denser air at lower altitudes, the control surfaces start to respond. He pulls back hard on the P-38's control yoke. Young pulls so many G's (G-forces) that his canopy window breaks out. The noise of the window horrifies Young as he pulls up just over a cornfield.

With a shattered window, it's time for Young to call it a day. But a string of tracer fire past his nose brings him back into the fight. A 109 dove down with Young and is now on firing on his tail. Young breaks left, only wanting to go home. Young could speed head, hoping to outrun the enemy; or he could climb for room to maneover, but gives the enemy an easiler shot at him. Young goes for the extreme: he flat plans, pulls on the yoke as hard as he can, turns hear left, ninety degrees, and shutters into a high speed stall. It's the air combat equivalent of locking the brakes. With the G-forces, young slows down rapidly and the 109 over shoots. Young rolls the wing level, the 109 was right in front of him, and pulls the trigger. It's Young's fifth kill, he officially an ace.

Young goes on to fly the P-51 named Scat VI. During these days, young learns lessons and tactics taught by his squadron commander, Hub Zucchini. Zucchini focused his ponies the basics, but strongly believe an aggressive spirit was the most valuable asset of a fighter pilot.


	4. Danger Zone

April 23, 1515, the LRS New Derby and LRS Drakee have been patrolling the Frozen Sea. Their mission: blockade the Crystal Empire from sending or receiving supplies. Two weeks prior, the New Derby and Drakee relieve three other ships, but their has been no action since then, and he new crew aboard the Derby is itching for some.

The LRS New Derby is the newest and most advanced ship in the Republic Navy. She is a nuclear-powered battleship-aircraft carrier, meaning, along with her enormous guns, she can also launch fighter and attack aircraft from her deck. With her being nuclear powered, her range is unlimited. Launched on March 7th, she was rushed to be built and fitted with systems. On April 7th, a month later, she was commissioned. She is commanded by a veteran naval officer and seapony, Admiral Iroh Dragon.

Everything was quite until a blip popped up on the ship's RADAR screen. This was what the crew has been waiting for. Two F-14 Tomcats are patrolling the skies east of the ship, where the blip is coming from. Voodoo 1 and 2 are two hundred miles from the unknown object and close in at 500 knots. The pilots use call signs to prevent the enemy knowing their real name. Ice and his back-seater, Slider are in Voodoo 1; Applewood and Timberwolf are in Voodoo 2.

As the two Tomcats get closer, the one blip turns to two. As the get even closer, the two turn to four. Surprised at the revelation, Wood hears the ominous sound of a RADAR lock on his plane in his earphones. A fifth plane is now on Wood's six o'clock with a RADAR lock. Slider then identifies the plane as Solar MiG-29's. Wood tries to maneuver, backing left and climbing, but the MiG stays put. The MiG launches a missile, Wood breaks left, but the missile flies straight into the Tomcat's right engine, blowing it up. As they tumble out of the sky, Applewood and Timberwolf safely eject. Voodoo 1 is completely alone against five enemy planes.

Three hundred miles west, Voodoo 3 streaks eastward to aid Voodoo 1, and becoming supersonic. In Voodoo 3 is ace pilot and air maverick Maverick, and back-seater Goose. A MiG comes around on Voodoo 1's seven o'clock, three of them pass on his left side. Ice banks left, but now has four on his tail. One pulls into gun range on Ice's six. The MIG's 30 mm cannon opens up. Silder calls for a right break. Ice breaks right and rolls his plane. Voodoo 1 is now totally defensive.

Maverick is now thirty seconds away; Ice yells at him got help him out. Ice makes a wide left roll, but the MiG's stay right behind. One MiG comes over on Ice's twelve o'clock high. The MiG gets a lock and fires. Ice breaks right and barely dodges the missile. Maverick now enters the fight. He sees Voodoo 1, and his unshaken five MiG-29 pursuers. A sixth MiG slides in on Maverick's tail from the left. The MiG then overshoots and the Tomcat then flies right through the MiG's jet wash. The lack of oxygen from the MiG's exhaust causes the Tomcat to lose control; Maverick struggles to gain it back. Rolling, Maverick is able to get control.

Maverick breaks right, disengaging. The MiG is still on Ice's tail. He plans on going while and reengage on the MiG's tail. The plan works, Maverick comes back a round, now on the MiG's six o'clock. He gets good tone and fires. The missile flies off the Tomcat and explodes, taking off the MiG's right wing. One MiG down, five to go.

Two MiG's now come in on Maverick's twelve for a head on pass. Maverick slides, taking them passed his left side. Turning left, Goose, Maverick's back-seat, sees Voodoo 1 blow them with another MiG on his tail. The MiG fires it gun again and Ice breaks right, dodging, and the MiG overshoots. Maverick rolls and pitches down. The MiG is now seated on Ice's two o'clock. Two other MiG's streak in from Voodoo 1's twelve, one passing between Ice and the MiG next to him. A fourth MiG comes streaks in on Ice's three o'clock, gets tone, and fires. The deadly 30mm stream streaks over the Tomcat's canopy, missing. Voodoo 3 banks left after the two MiG's that went head on with Voodoo 1.

One MiG turns around too wide and is below and in front of Ice. Ice rolls downs after him, with Maverick following. Goose then spots a MiG getting on their tail; Maverick holds fast, not leaving his wingpony's side. Ice starts tracking his MiG. The MiG rolls and starts to climb, a perfect shot for Ice. Ice launches a missile. The MiG explodes in a large fire ball. Maverick then notices a MiG zeroing on Voodoo 1's right. But its too late, the MiG fires; bullets rips into Voodoo 1's right engine. Ice shuts it down, and is now working on his left engine. Maverick rolls around, now on the MiG's tail. Maverick tries to get a lock, but the MiG is too close to Voodoo 1 to do so safely. The MiG fires it gun again, landing hits on the fuselage. Maverick tells Ice to break right, the left turning MiG is now open. Maverick fires without getting lock; the missile flies straight; but Maverick stays on the MiG's tail. Now with tone, Maverick fires. The missile hits its mark. Strike three for the MiG's.

Ice now above Maverick in a left turn warns Maverick of a MiG on his tail. Maverick now tells that he only has one missile left. The MiG fires its gun, Maverick maneuvers and rolls, dodging the deadly 30mm shells. He then slows the Tomcat, bringing the MiG closer. One the MiG gets tone on the Tomcat, Maverick throws the throttle back, opens the air brakes and pitches up; the MiG over shoots. Maverick brings the plane back down and begins tracking the MiG. Getting tone almost immediately, Maverick fires his last missile. The missile follows the MiG, and flies right up the MiG's tail pipe. It's Maverick's third kill of the day.

The remaining two MiG-29's flee. The two Tomcats make course for home. It is the first action for the crew of the New Derby. But this is only a taste of the actions to come. In the following weeks, The New Derby and Drakee will be locked in combat with the Solar Empire's finest naval ships and crews.


End file.
